Jerusalem's Most Contested Neighborhood

Over the past several months, Jerusalem has been a scene of clashes and violent attacks. Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood just steps away from Jerusalem's Old City, has been at the heart of the unrest, and is becoming one of the most contentious neighborhoods in the most contested city in the world. Israeli authorities have ramped up their practice of demolishing homes built without proper permits, which are near impossible for Palestinians to acquire. In addition, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in early November the reinstatement of the policy of demolishing terrorists' homes, which Palestinians claim is a form of collective punishment.

The Erosion of Collective Bargaining Has Widened the Gap Between Productivity and Pay

David Cooper and Lawrence Mishel Economic Policy Insitute
Over the last few decades, productivity has grown substantially, but the hourly compensation of the typical worker has grown much less. Any effort to reestablish a link between pay and productivity growth will need to promote policies that enable workers to once again join unions and bargain collectively.

It's Critics of 'Selma' Who Are Distorting Civil Rights History

Jim Naureckas FAIR Blog
The attacks on the film Selma not only distort the actual relationship between King and Johnson, they distort the film's portrayal of the relationship. LBJ is not the villain of the movie; the movie presents him as a complicated figure who under prodding accomplishes something great.

Police and Communities: It's Complicated

Roger Toussaint Portside
In New York, some of the very former governors and mayors who gave the police hell to get raises, insisted on underpaying them, leaving them without contracts for years on end are today, once again, claiming to be their best defenders and crusaders. Why is that?

Why Do Dogs Roll Over During Play?

Julie Hecht Scientific American
Wondering about why dogs do what they do seems to be an international pastime. But assuming that a dog rolling onto his back during play is akin to saying, you “came on too strong” or, ”OK, you won this round!” seems like a mistranslation.

Solidarity, PA

Abby Scher Dissent
This localist agenda is part of Mayor Spencers ambitious program to create a fairer and more sustainable local economy whose businesses stay put and where money spends more time circulating locally among networked enterprises. His administration is promoting worker cooperatives, energy efficiency, public banking, a local food shed and urban agriculture, remunicipalization of jobs (like the Socialists before them), and creating new jobs by reclaiming the citys waste.

After the Charlie Hebdo's Massacre - Support Those who Fight the Religious-right; "There is no way they will make us put down our pens."

Secularism is a Women's Issue; Karima Bennoune
The tragic massacre in Paris will undoubtedly give fuel to the traditional xenophobic far-Right and the danger is an increase in racism, marginalization and exclusion of people of Muslim descent in Europe and further. We do not want to witness "anti-Muslim witch hunts". One way to commemorate this terrible event and memorialize its victims is to unequivocally defend universal human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, and they apply to all.

NYPD Insubordination Results - Drop in Crime

Nathaniel Downes; Charles F. Coleman Jr.
Statistics speak for themselves - revealing the New York Police Department has been needlessly arresting people who were not criminals at all. The NYPD has given Mayor Bill de Blasio proof that the department is indeed out of control, and not accountable to the people they are there to protect. The "broken windows" approach to law enforcement needs to be scrapped, and also the age-old trend of funding America's cities on the backs of the poor.

How to Understand Psychic Violence and Murder - "The Whole Damn System"

Lisa Brock Praxis - Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership
[This is the first of a three-part series, Rage Against the Narrative, by Praxis Senior Editor Dr. Lisa Brock. The series is written in response to the uprising sparked by the killings of unarmed black people throughout the US. The three epigraphs below are gestures to each part.]